"Booted Foot" by Jason Zapata

The future is condemned by the past.
What has transpired becomes the basis,
The reason why future decisions are made.
Liberty from this prison can only be achieved
By destroying everything we once knew.
Grinding our former selves into dust
Under the booted foot of the present.

"Rydia and The Dancing Ghosts" by Jason Zapata

To watch the dancing ghosts promenade and pirouette
Rydia enters the castle ruins bathed in moonlight
Letting herself become lost in the shadowy minuet

These spirits from another age pose her no threat
Villagers fear them but she come here every night
To watch the dancing ghosts promenade and pirouette

Rydia knows no worry and doesn’t allow herself to fret
As spectral bodies glide about in the eerie twilight
Letting herself become lost in the shadowy minuet

The sight of these undead royals she will never forget
How it always filled her with wonder and delight
To watch the dancing ghosts promenade and pirouette
Letting herself become lost in the shadowy minuet

My Review of Gabrielle Charbonnet's and James Patterson's "Witch and Wizard"

James Patterson’s new novel, “Witch and Wizard” is intriguing to me conceptually. The story is based on two siblings named Whit and Wisty Allgood. Average teenagers living with their parents until the day their home is raided by the New Order. The brother and sister are accused of practicing magic by this oppressive new regime of the federal government that has come to power. Under the leadership of “The One Who Is The One”, they seek to imprison and execute all practitioners of magic.

During the course of their imprisonment and eventual escape the teens develop their magic and learn just how pervasive the New Order has become. Though this story is geared more towards a younger audience, it has a very mature theme. It makes me wonder if the author had questioned the direction in which he wanted to take the novel.

To be more specific, Mr. Patterson’s New Order is very similar to another dystopian nightmare, the world ruled by “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s, “1984.” We see the N.O. Party Posters and portraits of “The One Who Is The One” but the characters don’t really reflect on this. What made 1984 so haunting was how Winston would internalize the maddening world around him.

Patterson couldn’t take this novel to that level without alienating some of his young target audience, but I wonder what this story could have been if he had. Instead, Witch and Wizard focused on the conflict between adolescences who use magic and the adults who run this broken world.

I do think this novel does accomplish what it sets out to do. It creates a modern day world where magic exists and uses it as a tool to amplify the discord that can exists between teenagers and adults. Whitford Allgood and his sister Wisty are very benign and likeable characters. I would have liked more scenes with “The One Who Is The One.” I know the full explanation of his character will be revealed in later novels, but having the villain’s (and an adult’s perspective) would have made the story more enjoyable for me. This was a good read for younger readers but has enough storyline to cross over and appeal to those adults who read the Harry Potter series.

The Wendigo Possession by Jason Zapata

Gruesome murders occurred in the winter of 1878
The Indian swift runner would be hung at dawn
Guilty of cannibalism or being a wendigo’s pawn
I wanted to hear the mans side before he met his fate

To document his story I decided to visit the inmate
Nervously I entered his cell at Fort Saskatchewan
The aboriginal man looked haunted and withdrawn
But agreed to tell his story before it was too late

He said it started with insane hunger taking hold
There were no animals to hunt on the tundra’s snow
As hungry nights passed under the moons eerie glow
Slowly he began to feel his heart grow deathly cold

Among the Indians this symptom was centuries old
Swift runner never intended to let his family know
He was possessed by the evil spirit called wendigo
Harboring a craving which could not be controlled

Upon his wife and six children he would feast
Lost in the madness of the daemonic possession
I could tell he was not lying from his expression
Death held the only way he could be released

It struck me how much I had resembled a priest
Listening to this condemned mans confession
As he described the details of his transgression
Before he joined his family among the deceased

January of 2010's Deviant Artist of the Month

gypsie spirits by ~Hen-na-Ningyo on deviantART

I’ve decided to start the New Year writing about the many artists I’ve recently discovered on the deviantArt website (http://www.deviantart.com/). This site enables artists to post their work in virtual galleries and allow admirers to post comments on them. There are dozens of art categories and styles to browse through. In fact, over 100 million submissions were received by the site since August of 2007.

The first artist I’d like to discuss is Vanessa Cook. She signs her work ~Hen-na-Ningyo. She is a San Diego based jeweler and artist who primarily uses inks, watercolors, and acrylics. She recently opened up an antique store named the Silver Key where she designs necklaces and pendants. The Steampunk Chocker is just an example of the impressive work she does.

Vanessa studied Animation at the Laguna College of Art and Design; she has also attended the Art Center College of Design, and Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Her many interests include Post Surrealism art, European fashions from the Empire/Victorian/Edwardian Eras, Kimonos and Japanese Culture, and Experimental Animation.

Vanessa has been posting images of her paintings and jeweler on deviantArt for over two years now. I highly recommend you visit her gallery and get to know her work. She also has a myspace account you can visit by clicking here.